The Straw Hat's Seeker
by Allie X 'I
Summary: One day as the Straw Hat crew docked at an island, Luffy picked up a mysterious girl and claimed her as nakama. The crew were wary of her (except for Sanji, of course), but agreed with their captain's judgement. But there's something weird about her...Why is it that she feels so familiar to them? Who is she? AND WHY DOES SHE HAVE A POKER FACE? !
1. Silence and Yells

After the brush of death in Loguetown, the Straw Hat Pirates were on their way to Reverse Mountain, the entrance of the Grand Line, when their captain, Monkey D. Luffy, had spotted an island from his Special Seat™ and orders his crew to dock there. Knowing that their captain will whine constantly if they don't, they follow his order and sail the ship toward the island called Goma (totally random and of the top of my head). They needed to restock the food supply anyway ('cause _somebody _[i.e. Luffy] had eaten all of the meat and childishly threw away many fruits and vegetables in to the sea to attract random sea creatures.

When they docked (and Luffy bounding off the ship into the town's square with Nami yelling at him to lay low), the crew decided to spend a few days on the island as they pleasantly discovered that the town was very welcoming towards them, even though they knew the bounty over Luffy's head. Finally getting a chance to relax, Nami and Sanji went ahead to do some shopping (Nami: clothes; Sanji: food + women) while Usuop tinkered with his gadgets and the ship's canons and Zoro…did what he always did: sleep and train.

This continued on to the next day…and the next day…and the next day…and the next day…until-

"Yo, _marimo_, wake up."

Twitching his closed eyes at that jab, the swordsman/first mate of the Straw Hat pirates Roronoa Zoro opened his eyes to lazily glare at Curly Brow a.k.a. Sanji, a hand covering his yawn. "What d'ya want, shitty cook?" _Twitch. Smirk._

"Nami-swan wanted me to warn you that a Marine ship had docked about an hour ago on the other side of the island, so we'll be sailing off in about a half hour." The fighting cook of the Straw Hat pirates Sanji said, his signature cigarette slowly burning in his mouth as he stared down at the moss head. "She wanted to get the ship ready by the time she and Usuop return while I cook up lunch." A demonic smirk appeared on his face. "If you don't she will raise your debt by 200%." _Twitch. Bigger smirk._

"Fine," the swordsman grumbled, getting up from his comfy napping spot and lumbered off to do the threat-I mean, command-no wait, task,. Yeah, task! Anyway, ten minutes later, Zoro finished his _task_ when Nami and Usuop walked onto the boat; Nami with a bag of clothes in one hand and Usuop staggering under the numerous amount of shopping bags in his very muscular (*cough_weak_cough*) arms. He barely prevented himself from dropping the _very expensive _clothing on to the deck, and stood up straight, stretching his arms and back upward. "Ugh~," he groaned, "Why did you make _me_ carry your shopping bags? You could have asked Zoro or Sanji to do it!" he shouted, pointing his finger toward the smiling red-head **(or is she an orange-head? Hmm~)**.

"Well~," the navigator of the Straw Hat pirates drawled, "they weren't the ones who spilled their chemicals on ally of my _high-quality_ clothing yesterday, right?" "IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" he yelled, still pointing his finger at her. "Besides, Luffy was the one who knocked me down, causing me to accidently pour it on your clothes!"

"But he's not here now, is he?" she countered, eyes narrowed and arms crossed. She then sighed, eyes and arms relaxing as she shielded her eyes from the sun, looking for said elusive captain. "Where is he, anyway?"

"No, the question is. '_What_ is going on with him?'" Zoro drawled, crossing is arms and leaning towards the ledge. "I'm pretty sure you all noticed, right?"

"Yeah…"Nami trailed off, crossing her arms in thought. "He's been acting pretty strange ever since he came back to the ship the first day we arrived at this island.

"Not to mention he has been eating _less_," Sanji added, already catching up with the conversation and closing the cabin door behind him. "I didn't even have to stab him in the hand for trying to eat before you guys."

"Plus, he keeps staring at the town every morning," Usuop pointed out, his hand underneath his chin in thought. "It's as if he's almost thinking about something…or some_one_."

"Oh please!" Nami scoffed. "Like that idiot could think of anything besides meat and advenutres!"

"He does have his moments though…" Zoro trailed, thinking about the battle with Arlong and the expression he had."

"Yeah, he does," Nami agreed while Sanji and Usuop smiled and nodded.

For the next few minutes, the Straw Hat crew fell into a comfortable silence. Each of them reminisce the times they had together, the troubles they faced, the moment their lives changed forever the first time they met Luffy…

It was peaceful.

"LEEEEEEETTTSSSSS GOOOOOOOOO~!"

And then there was Luffy.

The crew glanced toward the main land, already zeroing in on the happy-go-lucky captain running towards the Going Merry with (they blinked) a swarm of Marines running after him and shooting bullets at him. They sighed, all of them going inside the cabin except for Usuop. He took out a telescope he had, just in case, and trained it at the grinning teen. His scope couldn't actually see that far, but he could almost sense the smile on his captain's face. He stared at him, then moved his gaze toward the angry Marines with their pissed-off faces, then to the blue-haired girl running with Luffy, then to-

_Wait, blue-haired girl?_

Sure enough, as he looked more closely into his scope, he could see the long, flowing blue hair behind the girl that was running side-by-side to Luffy, in which Usuop unconsciously noted that she and the captain were roughly the same height. He didn't know what to think except: _Who the _hell_ is she?_

Almost as if she could hear him, her head snapped toward the ship and Usuop slightly sweated from an unseen emotion going throughout his body. She then abruptly stopped and turned around toward the Marines, who didn't hesitate from the sudden action as they ran at full speed towards the bluenette and Luffy (who had stopped a few seconds after she stopped). Then, for no apparent reason, the officials suddenly froze. Usuop couldn't figure out why as the bluenette grabbed Luffy's hand and bolted toward the docks, the grinning teen easily following suit. The bizarre action allowed them a five second head start until the Marines snapped out of their daze and continued their chase, although they lost ground from the action. At this point, Usuop was getting close to biting his nails from the anticipation bubbling up inside of him.

When the duo were only a hundred feet away from the docks and the Going Merry only half the distance away, the bluenette suddenly stopped, causing Luffy to slightly stumble behind her. She turned her head toward Luffy, and it looked like she was conversing with him about something, probably a suggestion from how she was doing slight hand gestures and Luffy nodding his head in thought and then confirmation, even though Usuop could almost clearly see a question mark appearing above his head. Then all of a sudden, she grabbed bicep, looked straight at the caravan (for some reason though, he could have sworn that she was staring at _him_…), took a step back as if she was bracing herself, and-

"HOLY CRAP! SHE PROPELLED HIM!" he yelled, wrenching the scope from his eyes as he followed the black dot of his captain in the sky.

"Usuop, what's with all of the racke-GHH!" Zoro questioned as he came out of the cabin only for Luffy to land on his chest and his his head to knock painfully on the wooden door behind him. The two then slid down onto the floor in slight pain.

"Ugh~…"

"Ah, damn Luffy! What the hell was that for?!"

The sniper ignored them, however, as he watched with his own eyes as the teenaged girl bolt toward the dock the ship used to be anchored to with the Marines hot on her trail and grinning like maniacs. They looked like they _knew _that she had nowhere to run now, but she kept going. And going and going and going until she reached the last wooden board of the platform, lifting a foot off the dock-

"HOLY CRAPP, SHE JUMPED!" Usuop yelled again, eyeing the bluenette who was currently in the air and doing continuous, impressive front flips in the air, causing her to make a perfect arch from her action as she kept getting closer and closer to the ship. Zoro and Luffy stopped their groaning and followed the sniper's gaze, their mouths slightly open from the spectacle as Nami and Sanji rushed out of the cabin and following suit.

Then, with a gentle tap of her foot, she landed perfectly on top of the Going Merry's head ornament. The Straw Hat pirates all stared at the newcomer/intruder with suspicion, fear, and love in their eyes **(I'm pretty sure you can guess whose emotion belongs to whom). **Except fort luffy, as he started grinning like he's seeing an old friend from the past.

The teen girl's blue hair reached all the way to her hips, which were gently swaying from her descent and the wind. Her eyes, a beautiful sea-foam blue, were narrowed while her light, pink lips were in a thin line, giving her the image of a general analyzing the battlefield. Around her neck (which was a perfect tan color) was a long but thin silver chain with the possible charm hanging from it disappearing underneath her jacket, which only allowed to show a small amount of cleavage. The jacket was made of denim and jeans with the sleeves going all the way to her wrists and silver buttons buttoned all the way up. The jacket cut-offed underneath her breast bone, showing a simple designed white dress that flows out to the middle of her legs but for some reason weren't moving from the wind. Her arms were criss-crossed in front of her, her left hand lightly holding on to her left as a pair of silver bangles on each wrist clinked gently and pleasantly. The nails on her fingers and toes were painted a pretty sky-blue. Her feet are covered by flat, inch-healed white sandals with a strap holding her toes and her ankles to the sandal **(they look like ninja shoes from Naruto Shippuden, only with the male ankle hold-thingy and the female bottom)**. With the sun beaming down on her and giving her an ethereal glow, she gave off the appearance of-

"A GODDESS~!" Sanji yelled out, hearts popping out of his eyes as he flashed-stepped towards the bluenette and kneeled on one leg, a hand over his heart and the others gently holding the girl's left hand. "Oh, my beautiful queen, allow this humble knight to serve you and fulfill your needs whenever you desire! I will do my upmost best to accomplish them~!"

"and the crap cook is at it again," Zoro growled, causing Sanji to flash-step, _again_, in front of him, his fists closed tightly and his eyes set in a glare.

"What was that, _marimo?_" he growled. Zoro narrowed his eyes and growled back, "You heard me, Dart Brow."

Usuop sighed, already becoming slightly irritated from the normal squabble between the two men. He then twitched **(read: jumped)** in surprise as a hand gently tapped his shoulder. He turned around to see the blue-haired girl looking at him with her calculating hand. She stared at him while he dumbly stared back until he finally got the silent message as he held out a hand to her. She took it gently and jumped off the figurehead, barely making any noise from the impact. He gazed toward Zoro and Sanji (whom were still fighting) to Nami (who was looking at her with suspicion and a hint of greed) and finally to Luffy (who was still smiling in which it could cause to sun to burn out). He turned back toward to girl-who looked back at him-cleared his throat, and said in a loud enough voice, "So, what's your name?"

Zoro and Sanji snapped their heads toward the girl, momentalrrly forgetting their squabble. Nami's eyes narrowed and Luffy…ws still smiling.

And the girl was silent.  
"…"

"…" Zoro stared at her with heavy suspicions and a tiny hint of killing intent.

"…" Sanji still stared at her with those hearts in his eyes.

"…" Nami crossed her arms, anticipation rising from inside of her.

"…" Usuop patiently waited for the girl's answer.

"…?" Luffy looked back and forth from his crew and the newcomer, still smiling but with confusion interlaced with it.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…?"

She then turned her head to the left, closed her eyes, crossed her arms, and _harrumphed_ at them.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Zoro, Nami, and Usuop yelled out, blank white eyes and shark teeth appearing from the anger while Sanji was still love struck and Luffy laughing like the idiot he is.

She _harrumphed_ again.

"SAY SOMETHING, DAMN IT!"

"HAHAHA~! GUYS! Hahaha! Hold on a moment, ha ha~!" Luffy shouted, trying to quail his laughter and his crewmates anger. It failed, but hi ignored it as he walked towards the girl and paced his arm around her neck, causing her to lightly glare at said limb.

"Guys, this is Aqua!" his other hand gestured to the bluenette-_Aqua_-who looked up toward the other Straw Hat members with a nonchalant look, "and she's now a part of our crew from this day on!"

As if to prove a point, she lifted her hand a waved at them with her fingers, a straight face still on her as she looked a the shell shocked crew.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"_My Lady_~"

EnD oF pRoLoGuE

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Published: 13/3/13

* * *

**My hands are covering my face while I'm mumbling incoherent words.** **While I'm groaning, Allie comes in my room, a question mark clearly above her face.**

**Allie: What's up with you? Weren't you supposed to have updated your Hetalia fanfic by now?**

***groans* **_**I know~**__** It's just that the chapter's a lot harder to do, plus the document is saved on my FanFiciton account instead of Word Document.**_

**Allie: Then why don't you transfer it to said Document?**

_**Because for the chapter I'm writing, I'm using a video on YouTube to help me use as a reference so the is as clear as it could be as if one is actually doing it.**_

**Allie: Doing what?**

**_Playing a popular video-slash-video game in which it scares the _shit_ out of you whenever you don't realize it, and by the time that you do, it's too late._**

**Allie: Oh.**

**Allie: So how long will it take you to complete it?**

***shrugs shoulders***_**Dunno, actually. I'll try to work on it a little bit more tonight. But-**_***I make a heroic pose with a finger pointing at a random direction in the air***_** I**_** will _finish it_** **_by the time the weekend is over. This I_ SWEAR! *random music plays as fireworks explode in the background sky as confetti floats down from some usual pocket of space***

**Allie: _*stares at the author with crossed arms as a small piece of confetti lands on her nose. She stares at it, then brushes it away.*_ ..._yeah~..._So what the fuck was up with this crappy chapter?**

**A record broke in the backgro****und. The room**** was filled with silence.**

**A tick mark appears behind my head as I turn my head toward my O.C., almost causing my neck to whiplash.**

_**Well ex-**_**cuse~**_** me! It was almost midnight by the time I finished this chapter and pasted it to my FanFiction account documents. i was nearly half-delirious from lack of sleep, too tired to think about checking the wording and other shit and right now I feel like I'll drop at any moment! **_***then my eyes become white and stylized with numerous black circles as sheering**** hot flames roared behind me to show how extremely angry I am***_** DO YOU KNOW HOW **_**HARD**_** IT IS TO BE A JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL WHO'S TRYING TO MAKE 'A's' IN HER STUDIES **_**AND _GET THE PROPER AMOUNT OF SLEEP?!_ _HUH?_! DO YA?!**

**Allie: But haven't you been neglecting it for playing on PokéFarm these past three weeks.**

**There was the silence again, along with that dust-bowl-thing moving across the screen, like the ones you see on those old Western movies.****My anger fizzled out and was replaced with a moody, purple background along with matching tiny fireballs around my head while I hunch forward and turn my back on the O.C., swirls of depression added in on the scene as well.**

_**You're right...What kind of author AM I?!**_

**Allie: The kind who gets easily distracted and can't get any inspiration for at least half a month and it only last for a few days.**

_**...Wow~ Don't you do a good job at cheering me up. Note the sarcasm there.**_

**Allie: _*opens mouth to retort but then pauses. She then chooses her words carefully*_ But recently, haven't you thought up of a story that you were sure will bring in tons of readers and reviews?**

**The background and strange orbs and flames disappear as I slowly turn around to stare at Allie, however I am still hunching my back.**

_**...Yeah~...what about it?**_

**Allie: Well~, it's going to be easier for you, isn't it? After all, not only is it based on a semi-popular abridged video game series, but you are also adding your own twist to the characters and lines, right?**

_**...right...**_

**Allie: So~, it's going to be much easier on you since you will actually feel a LOT BETTER after you finish writing each chapter. On that note, it will give you enough inspiration and motivation to complete this difficult chapter for your Hetalia fic! **

**She smiles, praying to any higher power up in the sky for the crappy explanation-slash-motivational speech to work.**

**(It did, BTW.)**

**I perk up, smiling happily with random flowers hovering around me and the background suddenly changing to a bright yellow with hearts and rainbows floating around.**

_**...You're right. You're RIGHT! I can DO this! I CAN DO THIS! **_**I CAN DO THI**_**-zzz~"**_

**Allie stares dumbfounded as she watches me sleep standing up, the background suddenly going back to its original blue color. She stares a little longer, then face-palms.**

**Allie: What is this, some kind of Brick Wall Joke? **(trope. Look it up)

**She then sighs, walk toward me and throws me over her shoulder, still slumbering and murmuring something about 'squirrels' for some reason. As she walks toward the door, she looks back at the video camera.**

**Allie: By the way, she wanted to know if she should keep the genre "Mystery". After a reviewer commented on it (thank you Vampirelover12100 for the advice), she was wondering if she should switch it to Humor, especially 'cause she's planning to have _shit loads_ of it as the story progresses and the plot gets better. After all, this _is_ the first chapter of a new story. So please leave your comments below and gives us your answer. She would also like to point out that this was by far the longest chapter she has written so far, and is hoping that it will continue with the other ones she's planning on. And right now, she's already working on the second chapter of this fic, so be on the look-out for it. *waves with one hand* Ja ne~!**

**Allie then turns around walks out of the door, and closes it as I mumble something that suspiciously sounds like 'muffins'. The room becomes pitch black behind her.**

**End of Author's Note**

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**Author's Note Added 14/03/13 **


	2. The Power of the Poker Face

**_Yay~ UPDATE! Please enjoy and read the author's note at the bottom for an explanation of the quick update._**

* * *

"A MOUNTAIN!?" Usuop yelled, his head tilted to the side, mouth hanging open, and sweating nervously. Sanji was leaning against the countertop, his visible eye wide while smoking his cigarette. Zoro was leaning his head o his hand, elbow on the table, and an aggravated scowl on his face. Luffy tilted his chair back and holding a glass cup up with his teeth. And Aqua…

Aqua interlocked her fingers together, hiding her mouth from view and her elbows resting on the table. Nami couldn't tell is she was listening to Nami or if she was pondering on something else entirely.

"That's right!" she responded, mentally shaking her head from the thought. "When I first looked at the chart, I didn't believe it, but…" she trailed off, and then pointed at a spot on the map. "Look here." The boys crowded around the table and leaned a bit to get a closer look at the map while Aqua quietly got up from her spot next to Usuop. "The guiding light was definitely pointing toward Reverse Mountain on the Red Line." She pointed towards the black line separating the mountain into fourths.

"We have to run into a mountain?" "No, there's a canal here." "A canal!? Don't be ridiculous!" Usuop exclaimed, the background behind him randomly chaining to the Going Merry up the Reverse Mountain and an arrow pointing to the canal it's riding on. "Canal or no canal, a ship can't sail up a mountain!"

"Well, that's what the map says." Nami retorted, holding the map up to prove her point and not noticing Aqua staring through the porthole.

"Listen, you guys," Sanji said, spreading his arms a bit to give emphasis. "Nami's always right when it comes to charts and navigation."

"But you stole that map from Buggy," Zoro noted, lightly narrowing his eyes as memories played in his mind. "Can we trust it?"

"We're climbing a mountain in a ship? YIPPEE!" Luffy exclaimed, realization hitting him and causing him to grin like no tomorrow. "_Must be a mystery mountain._"

"Why do we have to go through an entrance, anyway?" Zoro questioned. "Can't we just sail South and go in from anywhere?"

"NO WAY!" Luffy yelled, pointing at Zoro for emphasis as Nami nodded her head in agreement. "He's right. There's a good reason for it."

"Are you crazy?! I'D FEEL ALL WRONG IF WE DIDN'T GO THROUGH THE ENTRANCE!"

"_That's not it!" _Nami interjected, punching Luffy behind the head in anger as Usuop looked through the porthole and Aqua left the room.

"Hey! How weird," Usuop exclaimed. "The storm's gone all of a sudden."

"Yeah, it's calm," Sanji confirmed, glancing at the porthole before following Aqua outside.

Nami turned around in shock. "What? That's impossible. We're supposed to ride the storm right up to the entrance!" She then went outside to see herself.

"Ah! The weather's beautiful!"

"What's going on?"

"HA HA HA HA!"

Nami's expression turns from confusion to grave shock. **"Oh no…we're in the Calm Belt."**

"Calm Belt?" "What's that?" "The storm's still raging over there, but there's not even a breeze here."

"CUT THE SMALL TALK! LOWER THE SAILS AND START ROWING!" Nami yelled, fear clearly shown on her face. "WE'VE GOT TO GET BACK TO THAT STORM!" "Aye, aye, Nami! 3"

"Why are you so worked up?" Luffy asked. "'Row'? Don't you know this is a sail ship?"

"Why do we have to get back to the storm?" Usuop asked as well.

"JUST DO WHAT I TELL YOU!"

"But the weather's great," Zoro interrupted, closing the door behind him with a _klak_.

"Fine, I'll explain it to you!" Nami shouted, pointing a finger at Zoro. "This ship is drifting south, just like you said a moment ago!"

"So does that mean we've entered the Grand Line?" Zoro asked, a little surprised that they already made it.

"IF IT WERE THAT SIMPLE, ANYBODY COULD DO IT!" Nami yelled back with blank eyes and shark teeth. Then she sighed, forcing herself to relax and begin to calmly explain, the background randomly switching to a rough diagram of the Grand Line between lighter shaded areas. "The Grand Line is sandwhiched between two other seas. They're called the _Calm belts_, where no winds blow!"

Calm, hu?" Zoro questioned, lazilu walking down the staris. "So there's no wind. So what?"

"So this ocean is—"

_**!**_

Suddenly, the Going Merry started to shake violently, causing its passengers to stumble and brace themselves. _"Hey! What was that? An earthquake?" _Luffy yelled-slash-questioned.

"We'rea t sea, you fool!" Usuop responded.

Then the skip was hovering in the air.

And bellow them was a whole group of _giant, SEA __**MONSTERS. **_

And the ship was on one of the monster's foreheads.

_**!?**_

…_**!**_

?

Here are their current reactions to the sticky situation they are in.

Sanji: shocked, mouth open wide, grave expression, and has a slightly teary eye "_**…!"**_

Usuop: has fainted, blank eyes, foaming at the mouth, eyes tearing up badly, and sweating professedly _**"…!"**_

Zoro: shocked as well but not as much as the others, eyes wide, mouth open wide, sweating as well _**"…!"**_

Luffy: shocked too, eyes comically wide, mouth open wider than the others "Th-they're _**HUGE!"**_

Nami: hugging the ships mast, sitting at its base, sobbing and sweating horribly "_It's a nest of NEPTUNIANS! big ones…"_

Aqua: …

Wait, where is she anyway?

Where is the girl that I have purposefully ignored the whole time since the Straw Hats came outside from the cabin?

Oh there she is!

She's just scratching the Neptunian while sitting Indian-style on its head.

…

Wait, what?

"**AQUA!" **The conscious boys and Nami yelled out with 'WTF' appearing above their heads, clearly more shocked and surprised than before while fearing for the silent girl's safety.

"**HOLD ON, I'LL GET YOU!"** Luffy called out, using his Devil Fruit powers to stretch his arms, wrap then around her thin waist, and bring her back to the deck, surprisingly as he gently plops her on the wooden flooring.

"**LADY AQUA!"** Sanji yelled, almost teleporting to her side as he kneeled towards the somewhat-dazed girl and checking her for any possible injuries she could have received. "ARE YO ALL RIGHT, MY LADY?! YOU'RE NOT HURT, ARE YOU?!"

Aqua stayed silent, though her eyes were slightly wide as she's hit by an onslaught of questions and concerns from the womanizing cook.

Then the screen suddenly pauses and rewinds, going back all the way to the moment the crew came out of the cabin except at a different angle and view.

* * *

_~FlAsHbAcK tO fIvE minUtEs AgO~_

* * *

Aqua stepped out into the deck, closing the cabin door behind her before she walked down the stairs. As her foot stepped on the deck, she moved toward the lowest section of the Going Merry's rail and leaned over it, crossing her arms over the wood to brace herself. She closes her eyes as she enjoys the wind gently brushing against her face and causing her hair to dance to the silent tune it's playing. A barely noticeable smile graces her lips as she accidently ignores the sounds of the pirates' voices and yells. She was positively glowing from the natural winds, the gentle waves hitting Merry, the soft cawing of the sea birds flying above in the sky, the rough vibrations underneath merry that were causing Merry to shudder from the sheer force-

Wait, what?

Blinking her eyes open, she leaned forward on the rail staring out into the now murky waters bellow. She narrowed her eyes as she could faintly identify the irregular shapes below the surface, already feeling the vibrations becoming more violent as each second passes by. She leans over a little more for a closer look-

_FWOOOOOSH~!_

…_and~ _the Going Merry was suddenly some stories high. With the combination of the momentum from the sudden event plus the precarious position she was in at the start, her upper torso went over the edge…

Causing her to front-flip off the ship.

How did they _not. Notice. That_? **O-O?**

Luckily, the descent didn't last long-only four seconds-as she lands on the Neptunian's forehead, legs and arms spread apart eagle-style while she blinks owlishly from the sudden actions that has taken place. She then sat up, sitting Indian-style and looks back at the ship. Staring at the boys jaw-dropping expression for s short while, she looks back at the 'chair' she's on and gently brushes her fingers across the creature's skin, slick from the sea water it was emerged in. She then started to scratch its head, sensing the confusion emitting from the Neptunian and feeling light vibrations coming from it, obviously purring from content.

"**AQUA!"**

* * *

_Aww~ Flashback Over Now~ -__3__-_

* * *

After that…horribly traumatic incident for the crew (except for Aqua as her face never broke from the calm exterior throughout the whole period of time, in which the crew mentally said 'poker face') and from the time it took for the viewer to read the flashback, we now see the crew sprawled out on the deck, obviously worn out and feeling extreme exhaustion, except for the bluenette. (All of them simultaneously thought _'Poker face…'_) She was just sitting at the bottom ledge of the staircase and enjoying the feeling of the raining hitting her skin with closed eyes. She faintly acknowledged Nami's realization as she explained the reason behind the canals and the currents made from the seas merging at one point at the mountain, causing the water to go up stream.

She slowly snapped out of it as she heard Luffy shout, "_THERE'S THE MYSTERY MOUNTAIN! __**IT'S HUGE!**__"_ She then got up and walked toward them, gazing at the rocky wall along with them.

"_THAT'S THE RED LINE. THE SUMMIT IS LOST IN THE CLOUDS"_

Luffy was grinning so much that it looked like it _hurts_ as he slightly jumped up with joy. _"WE'RE BEING SUCKED IN! STEER CAREFULLY!"_

"Leave it to us!" Sanji and Usuop chorused, grabbing the whipstaff and getting into position in the process.

"Wow…" Nami trailed, somewhat in shock as she saw the canal up close.

"I don't believe it," Zoro said as well, a pair of binoculars over his eyes as he got a closer look at the rushing water.

"_IT'S TRUE! THE OCEAN IS RUSHING UP THE MOUNTAIN."_

"_IT'S THE ENTRANCE TO THE CANAL!"_

"Hmm~"

Zoro blinked back the shock from the sudden noise as he his looked at Aqua at the corner of his eyes. Even though the crew didn't know her for long, he could already detect the slightly lax shoulders and light emotions passing through her eyes. She looked exactly like Luffy when he talks about his straw hat being his treasure and memories flash through his eyes.

_Did she actually visit the Grand Line before us? And most likely long ago?_

_**SNAP**_

The moment disappeared as both strangely-colored-haired teens turned their heads to see Sanji and Usuop falling back on the floor with the broken whipstaff in hand. Zoro slightly sweatdropped while Aqua looked on with an indifferent look (although her right eye very, _very_ faintly twitched).

"_The whipstaff!" _Nami yelled, already crying for fear of her life. Luffy, however, already snapped out of his shock and gritted his teeth as he bolted toward the bow (the front of) the Going Merry. As he passed Zoro, he flung his straw hat to him who caught it with one hand ("_!_") and started to chant, "GUM-GUM…" Then he jumped off, his body already inflated like the move's namesake. "BALLOON!"

If Luffy didn't cushion the impact, the ship would have crashed into the arch. As luck would have it, he did. After a few tense seconds with Luffy fighting back from the discomfort, the ship suddenly bounced off with a _BWOING!_

_**!**_

"WE'RE SAVED!" Nami yelled, face lighting up with joy,

"Luffy, grab hold!" Zoro commanded, his arm stretched out towards him. Luffy did so, but with both hands as the rubberman came closer and closer to the ship. Zoro was a little confused as he flung the boy to the deck, but instead of the wooden flooring he collided into Aqua's chest and causing the two to comically fall down, Aqua accidently being pinned by Luffy. (Sanji later socked Luffy for doing such a "PERVERTED ACTION ON MY BELOVED LADY!").

Apparently, when Zoro stretched his hand out to Luffy, the bluenette did the same thing simultaneously with the swordsman to the captain as well. Luffy didn't know which one to choose, so he picked both of them. This lead to their awkward position which will later on in the story be teased about.

But for now, Sanji and Usuop sat on the horizontal pole on top on the mast, Zoro stood with a smile and Nami leaned over the ship's bow's rail with a grin, and Luffy purposely pushed Aqua on to his Special Seat™ with a grin. The crew was feeling euphoric and giddy, cheering for their success and the adventures they were about to face. Hell, even the joy was affecting Aqua as her shoulders lax with each passing second and her lips began to quirk up-

"It's a WHALE!"

_**BWAAH~**_

The half-smile disappears.

"What'll we do?"

"Should we fight it?"

"Are you crazy!? We can't fight a monster like that!"

"But it's blocking our way!"

"Up close like this, it's a wall!" Sanji said. "Where are the eyes?"

"Oh!" Nami exclaimed. "Then it may not be aware of us yet!"

"But we're headed right for it!" Zoro shouted, pointing to the very convenient opening at the whale's side. "There's an opening to the left! HARD TO PORT!"

"THE WHIPSTAFF'S BROKEN!" Usuop retorted.

"Do something! I'll help you!"

"HEY! I'VE GOT AN IDEA!" Luffy shouted. He then proceeded to grab Aqua's hand, made both of them jump down to the deck, and dash into the room underneath the bow while Nami looks on with confusion and worry. "What are you going to do, Luffy?" As for the boys, they were still trying to move the whipstaff while chanting, "Hard to port!" as the ship kept coming closer… and closer…and closer…

"IT'S NO GOOD! WE'RE NOT TURNING!"

Until-

**_KA-BOOM! _"!?"**

"THE CANNON!"

"Well? Has the ship stopped?"

"…" (Aqua, btw)

The ship did indeed, although in the process the figurine head of the Going Merry broke, flew over Nami's head (who was almost crying in shock) and onto the deck, which just so conveniently landed in Luffy's viewpoint. This caused his eyes to pop out of his head in shock, and the next moment to have his jaw dropping and his expression grave.

**"!? MY SPECIAL SEAT!"**

Aqua just stares at Luffy's quivering body. "…"

Outside, the atmosphere was tense with anticipation and fear, the crew wondering if the whale even _felt_ that cannonball.

…

…

…

"L…LET'S GET OUT OF HERE WHILE WE CAN!"

"What the heck!? Didn't it even notice the cannon!? Or is it just slow?"

"Who knows! But now's our chance!"

**_BWAAH!_**

**"OW! MY EARS!"**

"ROW! JUST ROW!"

"Let's get away from it!"

Nami glances behind her as she saw Luffy with his arms crossed and a pissed-off look on his face, eyes glaring daggers at the giant behemoth, Aqua standing some ways behind him with her arms behind her and blankly staring at the whale.

"Listen, you!" Luffy yelled. "That was my special seat!" Then he moved his arm back and, with the power of his Devil Fruit, punched the whale in the eye. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO IT!?"

**_!_**

"YOU IDIOT!"

The whale blinked, and then stared straight down at the little ship beside it. "IT'S LOOKING AT US!"

"…" (you should know by now who this person is)

"C'MON, DARN YOU!" Luffy shouted, putting up his fists for emphasis only for Usuop and Zoro to kick him behind the head. "SHUT UP, FOOL!" **"AAH!"**

The whale suddenly opens its mouth, and the Going Merry was being pulled in with the water in the process. **BWAAH…!**

"AAH!"

**"AAH!"**

"LUFFY!"

"AAAAAH!"

"GWAAAH!"

"AGH! I'M GONNA FALL IN!" then Luffy jumps on a piece of driftwood, to the whale's tooth, and then to its mouth, climbing up reverently to get away from the rushing water. "I'M NOT GONNA DIE!"

Finally, after the whale seems content enough, it closed its mouth, the ocean returning to its natural silence…

And throughout that whole ordeal, Aqua never broke her poker face.

* * *

**_I had actually thought about ending the chapter here, but figured that I could add in another page of two to this story. Beside, I'M ON A ROLE HERE, BABY! XD_**

**_Anyways, ~TIMESKIP~_**

* * *

"What do you think?"

"What do I think?"

"I don't know what to think. I was sure that whale swallowed us."

Aqua only blinks as she eyes her new surroundings, taking note of the 'sky' and the island with a house and random palm tree.

"Is this a dream!?"

"Yeah. It's got to be a dream…"

"But what about that house on the island?"

"Probably a hallucination."

**_SPLOOSH_**

"… *blink*" _(This is Aqua by the way.)_

"…"

"What's that?"

"A NEPTUNIAN SQUID!" Usuop and Nami yelled as they ran towards the stern of the ship, leaving Zoro, Sanji, and Aqua to their own devices. The boys began to place themselves into a fighting stance while Aqua reached for something on her hip-

Until harpoons pierced the Neptunian with a _BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! _sound effect.

Zoro ("…!"), Sanji ("…!"), and Aqua ("…") just stares as the (literal) giant squid was being pulled into the island's home. "It looks like somebody lives here," Zoro notes.

"I hope they're human," Sanji replies.

"Hmm…" Aqua hums.

Usuop and Nami look back as they still continue to cry. "Hey, where's Luffy?" Usuop questions.

"I hate this. I want to go home."

As the occupant of the house came out and the crew looks on, nobody notice the slight widen of Aqua's eyes.

* * *

**_AAAAAANNNNDDD~ _DOOOONNEEE~! WOO HOO~!**

**Allie: Wow, I'm impressed! You actually updated a chapter in a span of three days! That's a new record.**

**_Yeah~. _I scratch my cheek in slight embarrassment. _It's easier for me to write this story because I actually have the material I need to reference it. Plus, this is all based on the American version of the One Piece_****_© manga, so that acts as a big plus. Also, the manga I have is actually the combination of three volumes, so it not only saves me money, but it also makes the writing quicker and easier. _**

**Allie: Okay~ But you only have the 10-11-12 and the recent addition of the 13-14-15 volume compilation. How are you going to write this fic if you don't have the English translated manga?**

**_Use as my temporary references, duh~._**

**Allie: …Okay~ I guess it works. So, how are you feeling right now?**

**_Like shit._**

**Allie: Good to know. So how come you didn't update this story last night? You would have been able to finish it by the time the clock strikes midnight.**

**_First off, my whole body felt so lethargic that I couldn't even finish typing up the words I wrote in my notebook, let alone post it up on my FanFiction account's document. Second, I was on my mom's account on the home computer (which I highly recommend to my dad to either [a] trash it and get a new PC or [b] trash it and get a new PC) and, for some reason, has a time limit to which I could go on. By the time I snapped out of my sleep-induced haze, it was already 11:53 or something like that._**

**Allie: Couldn't you just switch it and got to your account on the home computer?**

**_I could, but the Safari internet explorer was acting up so I couldn't go to that. On the plus side, I may actually get a new laptop soon!_**

**Allie: O.O What, why?**

**_Well~, my dad deduced that because it was always in its case the whole time it was on, the laptop couldn't breathe properly and cool off. So, it is probably…_dead.**

**Allie: …um, sorry, I guess-**

**_Sorry? _SORRY? _Dude, I'm HAPPY about that! I could _finally_ get a laptop that actually works better and is up-to-date with the current software provided in all laptops instead of having to manually download them onto my laptop. It will make downloading doujinsh_****_is _much _easier and more enjoyable for me~! HOORAY~! _*proceed to dance like an idiot***

**Allie: But didn't they give you that laptop for your Christmas present two years ago?**

**A random record broke in the background.**

**_…_**

**Allie: …**

**_…_**

**Allie: …**

**_… Meh, whatever._**

**Allie rolls her eyes and crosses her arms in response.**

**_Btw I'm thinking about changing my username on here._**

**Allie: What? Why?**

**_Well one thing is that the name is actually a basis for you my dear. Plus, I find it to be a mouthful, especially if you correctly say the full name._**

**Allie: And how do you do that?**

***smirks*_ Wouldn't you like to know…_**

**Allie: _*sighs*_ whatever~ hey I have a question for you.**

**_Shoot._**

**Allie: Who does Aqua remind you of?**

**_What are you talking about?_**

**Allie: Well, as I am just a figment of your imagination, I am entitled to all the nooks-and-crannies of your mind. So as a result, I know all the different stories and plots you are planning to do (which I have to point that you better get your ass into gear if you want to includ****e them into you fics, might I add). At one point, as I closely think more about who Aqua _truly is_-**

**_DON'T GIVE AWAY SPOILERS!_**

**Allie: I won't, sheesh~. Anyway, as I look, I notice a startling resemblance to a _very _stuck up bastard that we know and love.**

**_And that is…_**

**Allie leans to me and whispers into my ear. She then pulls away and leaves me with a blank but thoughtful look.**

**_…_**

**Allie: Now do you see.**

**_I do actually, and I didn't even mean to do it!_**

**Allie: maybe you should change her positions in the crew to fit it.**

**_But then it wouldn't even be original._**

**Allie: who cares? I find her moody, stuck-up, horrible picker of outfits-**

**_Uh…_**

**Allie: -totally fit to be a Mary Sue-**

**_Umm, Allie?_**

**Allie: -whiny bitch as a child _and _as an adult-**

**_Are you done yet?_**

**Allie: no, why?**

**_'Cause she's right behind you._**

**Allie: …what?**

**Allie whips her head behind her and, sure enough, Aqua is staring at her with her arms crossed and a totally blank look on her face. But as she is a figment of my imagination, the two of us could clearly see the massive tick mark on her forehead and the burning flames from hell flaring behind her, giving her the image of not only an angry angel, but an angry, beautiful _devil _in an angel's guise.**

**Aqua: …**

**Allie: Uh~ hehehe… No hard feelings…right?**

**Aqua: …**

**She then grabs Allie's arm and drags her out of the room, closing the door behind her and almost causing it to come off out of its hinges.**

**Allie: Um, look Aqua, I didn't mean to-wait, what are you doing with that-WAIT! Please drop the your weapon-HAVE MERCY ON MY SOOOOOOOUUUUUULLLLLLL~**

**Crashes, shrieks of pain and fear, and very maniacal laughter was heard outside of the room. I sweatdrop as each second passes and more crashes are heard, the laughter becoming more evil as it is sung.**

**_Umm~ Well I might as well go and stop the two before the completely demolish my home. BTW if you would like to know who she reminds me of, here's a hint: In my favorited stories, this specific anime/manga is the most favorited in my account._**

**More crashes are heard.**

**_Umm…gottagoBYE!_**

**Bolts out of the room. More shouts are made, then a duo of fear-filled shrieks, and finally silence.**

* * *

**Published on 16/03/13.**


	3. IMPORTANT NOTICE

**I regret to inform you readers that I ha ve lost all inspiration for this story. I hae tried over and over and over agai n to try and find my inspiration to type up the stories and post them on this fabulous sight.**

**Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.**

**So, as of today, I am officialy disbanding the stories and putting them on a infinite hiatus. It is not you, the readers' fault; it was mine, the author's, fault.**

**Thank you for reading my so few stories and taking the time to review them. I won't forget it.**

**Good-bye.**

**Allie X 'I**


	4. Surprises, Goodbyes, & Questions to Ask

**APRIL FOOLS~! BWA HA HA HA HA~! Did you _really think_ that I would give up on my stories!? REALLY!? That is com-_pletely_ preposterous! :P**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter of The Straw Hat's Seeker. Enjoy! ^u^**

**Also, please look up KyuubiNaruto's "Lugia's Song" (i think that's what it is called) on YouTube when it is indicated (it is painfully obvious...). I hope the song finishes at the same time you finish reading that indicated passage. If you are having trouble, the thumbnail should have a black/brown-haired girl with a red background and playing the flute. So if you are reading this on the computer, please look it up and enjoy the music with my story.**

* * *

Crocus, the keeper of the Twin Capes' lighthouse and ex-doctor of the Roger Pirates smiled behind his newspaper as he watched the blonde haired man get angry over his nonchalant action. He loved toying with new people when they're accidently swallowed up by Laboon, the island whale. It makes it so much easier to come with new ways to make them go postal. Of course, if they get too far in their rage, he just knocks them out and ignores their cries of pain as they're slowly eaten alive by the acid in Laboon's stomach.

Call him sadistic, but that's what happens to a man when lives alone and has the company of a gigantic whale as the only source of social interaction.

As he was thinking up ways to screw their heads, he surveyed the new guests. The green-haired one looked like he could be a tough one, especially with those swords on his hip ("three?"). The orange-slash-red-haired girl was freaking out, but he could see that she was the most mature out of the bunch. The long-nosed kid looked-no, was a coward, no doubt about that. The blonde-haired's temple was throbbing and looked ready to beat him senseless with his feet. The bluenette-

_Wait a moment. _He took a long, hard look at the girl whose arms were crossed as she stares at her crew with an unknown emotion. He knew she could sense his gaze as her eyes snapped to his. Even with the long distance, he could see the slight joy in her eyes and the arms relaxing from its grip. As he pissed-off the teens in the ship, he was glad they couldn't see his wide grin.

_Nice to see you again, Aqua._

* * *

**_AAAAAaaaa…_**

**_KERPLOOSH!_**

The Straw Hat Pirates blink as they saw Aqua jump off the ship, already swimming to get Luffy before he sinks like an anchor. They didn't question it too much as they hurry to get the other two random people who flew out of the door with Luffy while preparing to leave the stomach via giant door that was in plain sight **(how come they didn't even notice it in the first place?). **Before they could leave however, the whale-Laboon, the old man called him-stops all of a sudden. After they took note, their attention landed on the strange duo-a woman with long blue hair and a man with a crown-and prepares to question them.

However, Crocus shouted out, **" AS LONG AS I LIVE, YOU'LL _NEVER HARM LABOON!"_**

"Who's the old man?" Luffy asked while Usuop said, "He's back."

The strange duo, however, just slowly raise their bazookas up.

"Heh, heh, heh…" the girl, Ms. Wednesday chuckled.

"Oh yeah?" the man, Mr. 9 retorted.

_"There's nothing to stop us from blasting a hole-"_

**_"-right through his insides!" _**On that note, they simultaneously fire their bazookas at Laboon's stomach. However, Crocus murmured, "You no-good bullies!" and took the hit meant for the whale.

**_!_**

**_"That old man took the blasts for the whale!" _**Usuop shouted.

"Then was he…protecting the whale!?" Nami shouted in realization and shock.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Ms. Wednesday laughed as she and her partner raised their bazookas up again, getting ready to shoot. "Your efforts are for nothing!"

"You can't stop us! This whale's going to be food for our village!"

As for the pirate crew, they stare on with different reactions.

Usuop: "Why is the old man!?"

Sanji: Smoking his cigarette but with not much vigor as usual.

Luffy: Tilted his head in confusion. "?"

Nami: Stood there with shock. "What's going on!?"

Zoro: Crossed arms but with a slight worry.

Crocus growled at the laughing duo before him. Their fingers twitched on the trigger-

**WHAM! WHAM! "!?"**

The crew weren't too surprised that Luffy hit the duo and stated, "_They had it coming!"_ with a huff. What they were surprised about what that, while Luffy hit Mr. 9 behind his head, Aqua did the same thing to Ms. Wednesday. Apparently, the teens must have thought the exact same thing as they stood behind the strange duo and then proceeded to hit them behind the head, successfully knocking them out in the process. What was also surprising was that Aqua's clothing had signs of damage. The hemming of her dress was completely ruined and uneven, now coming only up to above her knees. Her shoes looked like they lost a half-inch of sole and her ankles were showing from the slight holes that were made. Her jacket also looks rough as well, since there were random holes at her shoulders and at the ends of her sleeves. However, the state of her appearance was at the back of their minds (except for Luffy because he's…well, _Luffy_ of course) as Crocus began to explain the background of Laboon and the actions of the strangely named-duo.

"Laboon is an island whale, a species that live only in the West Blue. They're the biggest whales in the world.

"Those creeps," he gestured to the tied-and-knocked-out duo, "are from a nearby village. They're after Laboon's whale meat. They could feed their whole village for two or three years on his flesh.

"But I won't let them do it! There's a reason he keeps pounding against the Red Line and crying toward Reverse Mountain. One day, when I was a lighthouse keeper, a friendly bunch of pirates came down Reverse Mountain. And behind their ship came a little whale. It was Laboon.

"They'd been sailing the West Blue together. Their voyage was going to be fraught with danger, so they'd left Laboon behind. Or so they thought. Normally island whales travel with their kind in pods but for Laboon, those pirates were his kind.

"Their ship was damaged, so they stayed at the Twin Capes for several months and I got to be good friends with them. Then, on the day they left, the captain asked me if I'd' take care of Laboon for him for a couple of years. _'We're going to circumnavigate the world and return here.'_ Laboon understood, so we waited here together." At that moment, Laboon resurfaced with a _Bwaah!_

"That's why he keep banging against the cliffs and calling to the other side," Nami stated, the others silently agreeing with her answer. However, all of them were shocked to hear what Crocus said next:

"But then…that was 50 years ago. He still thinks his friends are coming back."

Outside, Laboon was calling out, pleading to his friends to come back. **_BWAAAAH_**

Later, when Luffy had fallen off the palm tree only for Aqua to catch him, he had accidently looked into her eyes, only to see them downcast and her shoulders hunched.

After Crocus had lead them out of Laboon's stomach, the Straw hat Pirates and the old man himself were now traveling through the manmade waterway.

"This waterway is cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"And you built it inside the whale without getting killed. What made you do it, a whim?" Nami questioned.

"A whim?" Crocus answered. "Yes, a doctor's whim. I may not look it, but I'm a physician. I ran a clinic on the cape years ago. I even spent a few years as a ship's doctor." At this point, Luffy perks up.

"A ship's doctor!? Really!?" Luffy grinned while Aqua looked on with a straight face and leaning on the rail beside him. "Then be our ship's doctor!"

"Ridiculous," Crocus deadpanned as he climbed up the ladder. "I'm too old to look after a bunch of reckless young fools."

"So you're a doctor and you live inside a whale!" Nami said with astonishment.

"That's right. When they get this big, it's impossible to treat them from the outside." At that note, he began to turn the wheel. "I'm opening the doors."

After a few moments, the Straw Hats were finally able to feel the wind and sun raining down on them once again. "WOW!" Luffy yelled out with joy, standing on the base of the destroyed figure head with arms up in the air. "WE'RE OUTSIDE! A REAL SKY!" On the side of him, Nami smiled with her arm's laid down on the bow's railing while Aqua was standing on the right of him, arms crossed and a relaxed looking face.

"What'll we do with these two?"

"Throw them overboard." **_SPLASH_**

"AGH! WHAT IS THIS!?"

"A SEA OF GASTRIC ACID!?"

"No!" Mr. 9 said, resurfacing properly along with Ms. Wednesday. "The real seas, ms. Wednesday!" "It seems, Mr. 9, that those pirates knocked us out."

"Who are you guys, anyway?" Luffy asked while Aqua looked at the duo with narrowed and a thoughtful look, leaning on the rail with her hands for support.

"SHUT UP! MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!"

"Wait, Ms. Wednesday. Don't forget that our business is pirates."

"That's right, Mr. 9," his partner agreed. "The organization will be very interested in them," She then pointed at the two teens. "Just you wait!"

Then with a strange laughter (HO HO HO HO HO HA HA HA HA HA), they swam away with these last few words: "WE'LL MEET AGAIN, YOU HILLBILLY PIRATES!" "AND CROCUS! ONE DAY, WE'LL GET THAT WHALE!"

As they swam off, Sanji looked on with hearts in his eyes while his cigarette smoked hearts. _"Ms. Wednesday, eh? A woman of mystery…3" _he swooned. While he did that, Aqua bent down to collet some strange looking compass on a band and handed it to Luffy as she stood up. "What's this?" Luffy asked, staring at the wristwatch/compass as Aqua absentmindedly raised her right arm to her left bicep. "They must've dropped it."

"Should we let them go?" Nami questioned to Crocus. "Won't they come after the whale again?"

"No matter what we do, some no-good whalers are sure to show up."

Sometime later, the Going Merry docked at the lighthouse, its passengers watching Laboon wailing out to his long-lost companions. "So he's been waiting 50 years." "And he still believes they're coming back for him."

"Those pirates have kept him waiting a long time," Luffy stated, resting his body against a boulder with his hands behind his head. Above him, Aqua sat Indian-style on the top with her hands on her knees, staring at Laboon with her signature blank face.

"Hmph. This is the Grand Line," stated Sanji, sitting on top of the wooden table. Then he removed his cigarette and blew out the smoke. "Those guys said they'd be back in a couple of years. It's been 50 years now. There's your answer.

_"They're dead. He'll be waiting for them 'till the end of time."_

"How can you be so cynical!?" Usuop shouted, punching the table in anger and getting Sanji's attention in the process. "You don't know that! They could still return! It's the heartbreaking strong of a whale that never lost faith in his friends."

Throughout that whole monologue, Crocus sat there silently ("…"), then said, "I'm afraid reality is even crueler then fiction." **_!?_**

Everybody's attention was on Crocus except for Aqua, who looked only at the corner of her eye while still watching the wailing whale. "Those pirates fled the Grand Line. I have it from a reliable source."

"WHA-WHAT!?" Usuop yelled out in shock.

"And they abandoned the poor whale!?" Nami continued with shock as well. "I can't believe it! But to flee the Grand Line, they'd have to cross the Calm Belt!"

"Precisely," Crocus agreed. "That's why their fate is uncertain. But even if they are alive, they can never return here. The season, the climate, the ocean currents, even the air currents…everything about this place is unpredictable."

The he said this with a grave expression: "_**O**_**_n these seas, nothing is ever normal. Weak hearts succumb to fear on the Grand Line."_**

"And the weak of heart…" Sanji continued, extinguishing his cigarette with a small _fsss_, "cared more for their lives than for their promises they'd made and hightailed it out of her, eh?" Zoro looked on with a straight face, glancing t Aqua as she got off the boulder and began to walk towards the docked Merry.

"Then they _did_ abandon the whale!" Usuop shouted, now with anger. "And after 50 years, he still believes in those jerks! It's too cruel!"

"But why don't you tell Laboon the truth?" Nami reasoned. "He can understand human speech, can't he?"

"I told him the whole story," Crocus interjected, closing his eyes as memories flashed before him, "but he wouldn't listen." "Wouldn't listen?"

Then he began to tell the young pirates the story. How Laboon reacted when Crocus said that they're never coming back; how Laboon kept cutting him off by wailing as loud as he could; how Laboon splashed Crocus to stay quiet while he wailed toward Reverse Mountain from that moment 'till right now. "Laboon turned toward Reverse Mountain and began to wail." Everybody was quiet as they listened to the old man's story and whale's wailing. "Then he started ramming the Red Line with his head. It's as if he were convinced that any day now, the pirates would return from behind the mountain. I've tried explaining it to him many times. But he refuses to face the truth."

"That's some whale!" Sanji commented, another lit cigarette in hand. "Betrayed, yet still he believes."

"But he's waiting for nothing!" Usuop interjected.

"Yes, he ignores what I say," Crocus agreed. "He's afraid to loose his reason for waiting. After all this time he's terrified of losing that hope." Luffy started to pick his nose with his pinky, staring at the ship in thought. "His home is the West Blue, which lies on the other side of the Red Line. But there's no way home from here. Those pirates ha came here with we're not only his friends, they were his one hope for going home."

"Well, you can't help but feel sorry for him," Sanji stated. "But they lied to you too. Why do you still take care of him?"

Crocus was quiet, then looked at Laboon's forehead. "Look at those scars on his forehead. If Laboon continues to ram the Red Line he will surely die. We have an odd relationship but we've been together for 50 years. I can't stand by and watch him die."

"WAAAAH!" Luffy shouted with a face that resembled his surname, as he began to run up on Laboon's skin, the mast of the Going Merry in hand.

"Huh!?" Nami looked at Luffy in shock and a sweatdrop behind her head, watching him running with a "RAAH!"

"!" Crocus looks at him with a slight shock.

"What's that idiot doing?" Usuop questioned, shielding his eyes to get a better look at their captain.

"You take your eyes off him for one second and…" Zoro trailed off, a sweatdrop behind his head as Luffy continues to run, shouting "RAAH!" still.

"Maybe he likes mountain climbing," Sanji suggested, a sweatdrop behind his head as well.

Back with Luffy, he finally reached the top. "Okay, I've reached the top! Is that your newest wound!?" Luffy asked himself, staring at the still bleeding gash on Laboon's forehead. Then, still running, he stretched his arms up in the air, the ripped up part of the mast pointing down. "GUM-GUM…" Then he slammed the mast into the wound with a sickening _SHUNK_. "BOUQUET!"

_"Hey, isn't that the mast…"_ Zoro trailed off.

_"Of our ship?" _Sanji finished.

_"Yeah, that's the main mast,"_ Usuop confirmed.

It was deadly silent as the situation slowly sunk in their heads, the event repeating over and over again in their heads. With a quick look at the ship, you can clearly see the stump of the main mast left on the Merry's deck.

**_…_**

**_…_!?**

The pain finally registered in his head as Laboon sweated and spasms in pain, crying out **BWAAH! **Then he started to flail. **_BWAAAH!_**

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!?" Sanji, Nami, and Zoro shouted in anger and shock, shark teeth and blank eyes replacing their normal looking faces while Crocus yelled with just an ordinary angry look.

"DON'T DESTROY THE SHIP!" Usuop cried out, nearly fainting with this teary eyes rolled up to his head and a comically wide mouth.

With Luffy, he was holding on to the mast for dear life. "WAAH! WAAH!"

Thus, when the whole event finally ended, a battle came to a draw, a rivalry was formed, and a promise was made…

And Laboon obtained a new paint job.

"RIGHT! OKAY!" Luffy shouted, giant cans of paint surrounding him with a giant brush in his crossed arms **(where did he get them from, anyway?)**. "That marl is our contract! So don't go ramming into stuff and erasing it before we get back!" Laboon agreed with a _Bwah!_

"…" Crocus stared at the spectacle, an unknown emotion passing through his eyes.

"Okay!" Luffy shouted with a grin.

_Tmp._ "Hmm?" Luffy turned around, a question mark appearing above his head as he stared at the totally-ignore-since-the-past-number-of- paragraphs bluenette, holding a pail of water in one hand and a white rag in the other.

Speaking of the girl, she had a new outfit on. Her head was pulled back by a silver headband, revealing pierced ears with medium-sized black hoops. Her jean jacket was replaced with a black one, zippers running down on both sides of the sleeve from the top of the shoulder to three inches away from the hemming. The end of the sleeves covered up her wrists, but shows her silver bangles, fingerless black gloves, and metallic-silver nails. The jacket was zipped up, but just enough to catch a glimpse of her white tank top and silver chain disappearing underneath the tank. The tank cuts off at her midriff, baring her toned stomach, while her jacket flayed out, nicely shaping the sides of her stomach. Below, she wore black yoga pants with a chain serving as a belt, the pants flowing down to her ankles. Her feet were covered up by fourteen eyelet black combat boots with three silver buckles, two on the side of her calves and one across her ankles. To sum it up, she was one sexy lady that was ready for a brawl.

But Luffy being totally asexual and himself (in my opinion, though…well, that's what the trope website said), he just tilted his head with a thoughtful look. "Wha? When did you change your clothes? And what's up with the bucket and rag?"

She stared at him with her narrowed eyes before she bent down, placed the rag in the water to soak, and then stood back up while ringing out the rag. He blinked as she walked closer to him before she grabbed the back of his head. "What are you-GEH!" Luffy asked but then manly yelped as Aqua began to furiously scrub his face free from the dirt and blood and paint he gained, totally ignoring his cries and flailing arms.

"ACK! GAH! Hey, STOP IT-BWA! OW! Hey! AH! Seriously stop i-GWAAH! Stop, CAPTAIN'S ORDE-_BWAGAHA_!"

She just scrubbed him harder on his face and neck.

Nami giggled a little from the spectacle as she began to work on her map. "Now the, let's plan out our voyage."

With Sanji, he was busy preparing the elephant true Bluefin he bought back in Loguetown. "This elephant true Bluefin is a cooks dream," he said cheerily.

With Usuop and Zoro, they were back on the ship; Usuop working on repairing the mast while Zoro took his nap. "That darn whale! He almost wrecked our ship!" Usuop grumbled, banging the nails into the metal-wrap-thingy with a rectangular-shaped hammer. "Hey, gimme a hand here, Zoro! I'm not the ship's carpenter."

"Zzzz…"

Regardless, the day turned out to be peaceful.

"AAAAAH!"

Like I said; peaceful.

"Hey! What's all the racket?" Luffy asked, sitting crossed-legged on the ground with the giant brush lying in front of him while Aqua continued to scrub away the dirt, now on his arm, finally submitting to the make-shift bath.

"What's wrong Nami?" Sanji asked with love in his eyes, carrying the crew's lunch on platters with his arms, head, and foot. "If it's lunch you want, I have it all ready! 3 AND YOU LOOK WONDERFUL IN THOSE CLOTHES, LADY AQUA!"

"…" Aqua just stared blankly at him before turning back to her work, already scrubbing Luffy's other arm.

"Al right, time for lunch," Usuop stated, climbing up on the cliff from the rope ladder.

With Zoro: "Zzz…" … he's still asleep.

"THE COMPASS!" Nami pointed out in astonishment. "IT'S BROKEN! IT'S SPINNING LIKE CRAZY!"

"…" Crocus then stepped up to them. "You came to the Grand Line unprepared. Well I never! Were you planning to throw your lives away?"

"Food!" Luffy shouted with joy (now finished with his make-shift bath and looking and smelling better than he did yesterday) as he crouched on his seat, Aqua pulling up the chair beside him and sitting down.

"you can eat hay," Sanji stated to Luffy, but turned his head towards Aqua with hearts for eyes, Usuop face-palming in the background, "but you can have as much as you want, my lady~!"

"…"

While that event took place, Nami looked at Crocus with confusion as he continued.

"I told you, there's nothing normal about this ocean. Your compass isn't broken."

"Then what is it?" she asked. "A magnetic field?"

"Exactly," Crocus answered. "The many islands of the Grand Line are rich in minerals. The region is filled with abnormal magnetic fields.

"And to make matters worse, the sea and wind currents follow no clear pattern. As a mariner, you must realize how dangerous that is. If you were to set sail without knowing this, you'd surely perish. And without another way of telling direction, your journey will be hopeless."

"I…" Nami slumped, placing a hand behind her head as she sweat-dropped, "I didn't know. Don't worry, don't worry."

"THIS IS BAD! CAN YOU HANDLE IT!?" Usuop yelled out with comically widen mouth of shark teeth and popped out eyes.

"Nami, you're still cute even when you don't know something!" Sanji swooned, hearts appearing above his head and replacing his visible eye.

"…" Aqua huffed at the sight and continued to eat; slightly bumping her shoulder to Luffy's to get his attention. Said boy swallowed his food before he looked up. "What's bad?"

"SHUT UP!" Nami shouted to Usuop (who placed his goggles over his eyes) and Sanji (who still had hearts in his eye) while Luffy ignore the spectacle and grabbed another piece of meat before he took a huge bite out of it. "Hey, the Bluefin trunk is good!" he commented, Aqua nodding in agreement on the left of him.

"You've got to have a log pose if you're going to sail the Grand Line," Crocus said, successfully getting Nami's attention towards him again.

"A log pose? What's that?"

"It's a special compass that records magnetic fields," he explained, gaining Luffy's attention in the process.

"You mean a weird compass?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled from the large piece of meat in his mouth.

"They have an unusual shape," Crocus elaborated. Then Luffy took the piece of meat out of his mouth, searched through his shorts, and pulled out the compass.

"Like this?"

"Yes, like that. Just getting into the Grand Line is hard enough. Without a log pose, navigation is impossible."

"I see," Nami said, getting up from her seat. "But wait a second…" Then she suddenly socked Luffy in the face._ "…WHERE'D YOU GET THAT!?"_

Luffy fell off his seat but sat back up on the ground, rubbing behind his head with his hand while the other held the log pose, still chewing his bluefin meat. "Aqua found it. Those strange people dropped it when they left."

"Those two?" Nami blinked, still in her punching pose.

"Why'd you hit me?"

"Just 'cause."

"'Just 'cause'?"

"So this is a log pose, Nami said, bringing up the compass to eye-level. "It has no markings."

"The many islands of the Grand Line have magnetic fields that operate according to their own peculiar laws," Crocus explained. "Therefore, you must record the magnetic field that connects one island to another in the lop pose and then sail to the next island.

"On this ocean, normal navigational instruments don't work so you have to depend on you log pose to display the magnetic fields. Using this mountain as you start point, you must pick one of seven magnetic fields. No matter which island you begin from, all the routes eventually become on. And the last island of them all is…

_"Raftel. It's the last island on the Grand Line. In all of history, only one group of pirates is known to have landed there for sure…the crew of the Pirate King. Raftel is the stuff of legend."_

"Is that where it is!?" Usuop asked with hopeful joy. "The One Piece!?"

"Perhaps," Crocus answered shadily. Luffy looked on with thought and finishing off his fish bone while Aqua followed suit, albeit with a bone half its size and only sucking out the marrow.

"No other legend it as tempting, yet no one else has reached the island."

**"You mean,"** Luffy rephrased, biting the bone with a huge grin, **"until _we_ get there!"**

Then he finished his bone and leaned back a little on his chair, stomach bulging from the lunch and sighing in content. "Awright, let's go! I'm done eating."

"You ate the whole thing!" Sanji shouted, his eyes popping out towards Luffy while Usuop's own eyes bulged out at the empty plates. "GOSH! HE EVEN ATE THE BONES!" Aqua just crossed her legs and picked her nails in a bored fashion, still seated next to Luffy and not looking to get off of her seat anytime soon. Nami, however, just ignored the boys and girl as she stared at the log pose strapped around her wrist. "A log pose, eh? I'd better be careful with it. "The fate of our journey rest with this."

Sanji stood up, anger rolling off of him in waves. "You stretchy crap-jerk! I made that for Nami and Aqua! I wanted them…" Then he kicks Luffy behind the head, causing him to fly. "…_to have the best of it!"_ "UGH!" The impact caused him to fly into Nami's log pose (_KRAK. "Huh?"_) and breaking it off in the process, landing on the ground with his head.

"…" _?_

**_KA-THWAK! _**_"GO SOAK YOUR HEADS!"_

WAAAAAAH

SPLOOSH! "GULP!" "OOGH!"

"HEY! Wasn't that thing really, _really_ important!?" Usuop shouted, shaking and sweating with a dropped jaw and chin, shark teeth, and popped-out eyes while Nami turned toward to the silent Crocus with nervousness. "What'll we do, Crocus!? Our log pose is…"

Crocus stared, then said, "Don't panic. You can have mine for thanks for helping Laboon." As he walked to his cottage to retrieve his log pose, Nami turned her head toward the silent bluenette, a frown on the red-heads face as she stalked towards the seated teen. Aqua merely blinked and cocked an eyebrow as she stared at the looming figure of the navigator with her hands on her hips and the frown still on her face.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you ever since you arrived on our ship with Luffy," she sated, placing her hand on the table and drumming her fingers on top of it, gaining Usuop's attention in the process, starring at Nami's back and at Aqua. "While we docked on that island for those few days, I couldn't help but overhear the rumors about the marines that occasionally dock there. Apparently, the lieutenant was rumored to be a ruthless man with quite the track record in retrieving escaped criminals and roaming pirates and torturing them until their thoughts bleed from shouting out pleas of mercy and help, and his men are thought to be just as blood thirsty as their captain. So _why_," she leaned menacingly leaned closer to Aqua until the two were mere inches apart, "could a tiny, delicate looking _girl_ like _you_ could make those same ruthless marines to _tremble in fear from a single glare from your eyes!?_" At that point, Usuop gapped in shock while Aqua just stared on, although her eyes slightly narrowed. "Not only that, whenever the townsfolk brought up the discussion of said marines, your name always comes up. From what I could gather, _you use to be active in the work of the marines, weren't you!?"_

Usuop gasped and Aqua's eyes turned into a glare, blank with no emotion.

**_SLAM!_**

Nami and Usuop jumped when the glaring bluenette slammed her hands on the table, causing the dishes to rattle violently, and stood up from her seat. The duo actually started to tremble in fear as the black-clad teen slowly (and with suspense) reached for something behind her back, time beginning to slow down as she slowly raised above her head-

_Thmp_

The navigator and sharpshooter blinked at the bluenette who was rummaging in a black, drawstring backpack that they had never seen before. It was worn out (from all the random stitches that were placed here and there), but in great condition with two, simple black pockets and a single silver button sewn on the flap placed on the top front. It was also decorated with random zippers that were placed at the sides, the bottom, and even replaces the string-like straps of the bag. The duo then switched their gazes from the backpack to the red-velvet, medium-sized bag that Aqua was holding in her hand. She then closed the pack by pulling the zipper-straps and causing the opening to close and shoved her right hand through both straps, swinging it behind her. She walks around the table, grabs Nami's hand, opens it, places the velvet bag in it, and grabbed the other hand to cover the bag on top. She then walks down the same pathway Crocus took, except taking the part of the path that branches off towards the bottom of the cliff, no doubt waiting for Sanji and Luffy to resurface.

The duo blinked at her retreating figure, then turned their gazes toward the soft-to-touch bag in Nami's hand. She carefully loosened the strings holding the bag closed, opened it-

-And greatly blanched in shock by what she found, Usuop leaning over her shoulder and matching her example as well.

In that innocent looking bag, it contained diamonds of every color size, tiny rubies and emeralds scattered here and there, countless numbers of gold coins filling the majority of the bottom, silver pendants and gold rings covered in red and black opals, and so much more hidden beneath the contents of the bag. The sulight had coincidently chose that exact moment to shine down on that bag, causing the jewels and treasures to sparkle and glow beautifully in their eyes. It was actually quite breathtaking…

And caused the two to have their eyes popping out of their eyes in shock.

"WHAAAAAT!?"

Aqua halted when she heard the shriek coming from the two weaklings (not to be mean or anything, but they are somewhat usless in battle at the moment) before shrugging it off and rolling her eyes as she headed off to her destinations once again, humming lightly to herself as she recalled exactly _where_ she found those jewels.

* * *

_(Yay Flashback~! Tee hee hee~)_

* * *

AAAAaaa…

KERPLOOSH!

Aqua huffed through her nose as she took a few steps back before taking a running start, jumped on top of the rail, and propelled herself upward before diving hands first into the stomach acid. Once inside, she immediately headed towards the captain, knowing that a) he can't swim and b) he's a Devil Fruit user. She got to him in record time and grabbed him, ready to swim back up to the Merry when something blinked at her in her peripheral vision. Filing that away in her mind, she pumped her leg muscles as she swam up to the surface. Breathing the somewhat fresh air **(how can anybody get fresh air in the stomach of a whale, anyway? Better yet, how could they _breath!?_)**, she unceremoniously threw the semi unconscious captain upward, diving back in and completely ignoring the yelps and cries of shock that followed.

Swimming downward until her feet touched the bottom, she gazed around the bones of the unfortunate sailors/very-rowdy-pirates-that-annoy-the-_fuck_-out-of-you until her eyes caught that gleam from before. Swimming towards it, she moved the bones with her right hand until she felt something solid and picked it up. She merely blinked at the gold doubloon in her hand before closing her fingers over it and rummaging through the bones a little more feverently. After a minute of searching (and conveniently finding a small treasure chest that was 4x12 inches), she found enough doubloons, jewels, pendants, rings, and bracelets to satisfy any bargains she might make in the near future. Closing the lid, she began to swim back up before something white shined in her vision.

Eyeing the _very big_ pearl (her fingers on both hands had to cover it up) hung on a silver chain and resting comfortably on the remains of an old pirate captain (which wasn't hard to guess from the destroyed hat that was resting on top of the skull), she nimbly swam toward it, grabbed it and pulled it off the skeleton, not noticing the neck popping off the body as she took a better look at the pearl. However, she _did_ notice the random holes that had appeared on her sleeves (and steadily growing bigger as time passed). Looking down, her eyes narrowed in irritation as she took an even longer look at her dress being destroyed and the soles of her sandals melted off. Her temple throbbing in agitation, _not happy_ at the prospect of changing clothes (this was her favorite outfit, _damn it!_), she pocketed the pearl and placed the chest underneath her arm before swimming up back to Merry.

Popping up near the ship, she grabbed the ledge that decorated the ship and nimbly climbed up, which was impressive if you take in the fact of her clothes drenched and an arm holding the chest that was threatening to fall off any moment. Grabbing the edge of the deck (and congratulating herself mentally), she flipped herself over the rail and bended her knees from the impact, standing straight up on the deck and heading towards her room before she heard a yell. Glancing behind her, eyeing the crew and strange duo at the deck, she turned back around and placed her chest on top of a barrel **(BARRELLS~! -_-+)** before turning around and heading towards the crew. Walking up the stairs (and somewhat surprised they didn't notice her), she headed towards the blue headed female as Luffy coincidentally headed toward the crowned man before both of them raised their fist up and promptly punched them on the duo's heads.

* * *

_Aww~ No More Flashback TT-TT_

* * *

Lightly shaking her head from the flashback, she stopped herself a few feet away from the area where she predicted that Sanji and Luffy will appear. She merely blinks with her signature blank face as the strange duo and the boys gasp for air and noticing each other in the process.

"GACK!" "Gack!" "GACK!" "_HABAGACK!_"

**"HUH!?"**

"Allow me, Ms. Wednesday," Sanji said, helping her out of the water and back onto dry land. She smiled gratefully at him. "Oh, thank you."

As for Aqua, she dragged Luffy out of the water, lifted him up from his armpits, stood him properly back up, and proceeded to roughly dry him off with a random towel she had kept in her bag, yet again ignoring his yelps and cries of "STOP! STOP IT! FOR KAMI'S SAKE PLEASE STOP!"

And Mr. 9 was ignored the whole time. "Hey!"

After the group of five returned to the top of the cliff, Mr.9 and Ms. Wednesday made their request to go to a "Whisky Peak", which was apparently the name of their home island, return home.

"Why should we help you, Mr. 9?" Nami inquired, leering slightly at him, relishing the fact that she has another sucker in her debt. "You tried to kill that whale."

"Who are you guys, anyway?" Usuop asked.

"I am a king. **_OUCH!_**"

"Liar," Nami deadpanned with her temple throbbing, pinching and puling Mr. 9's cheek. (the one on his face; _totally not _the one at his waist, cuz that would be WRONG and PERVERTED!)

Mr.9 then stepped back a bit and kneeled on the ground with a bow, Ms. Wednesday following suit. "We can't tell you! We just want to go home! We promise to repay you!"

"It's not our fault!" Ms. Wednesday explained, slumping and trembling in defeat. "Our work requires us to be secretive! Our company's motto is 'Mystery.' That's all we can reveal. We appeal to your kindness and compassion."

Crocus glared at the duo and crossed his arms. "Don't trust them. Those two are no good."

Nami, however, just lifted up the duo's broken log pose. "By the way, we broke the log pose you dropped. Do you still want to come with us?"

"WH-WHAT! YOU BROKE IT!?" they yelled, standing up with fury. "THAT LOG POSE WAS MINE!"

_"WE GOT DOWN ON OUR KNEES AND BEGGED AND YOU'RE STUCK HERE TOO!?"_

"Oh! But we have on that Crocus gave us," Nami smiled cheekily, secretly loving the attention and begging she's getting as they kneeled back down bowed lower than before. "_We appeal to your kindness and compassion." Drat! She tricked us, that minx!_

It was only when Luffy allowed them to journey with his crew did the deal was made. Sometime later, the crew and duo went back to the ship, fully prepared and ready to depart for their next journey; destination. Whiskey Peak.

"It's time. The log pose should be full now," Crocus stated, arms crossed as he looked at the female navigator. "Did you use the map to set it?"

"Yep, it's all set!" Nami replied, glancing at the compass in confirmation. "It's pointing to Whisky Peak."

"Are you sure you want to take those two, boy?" He gestured to the duo. "Once you've chosen your course, there's no changing it."

"If we don't like it, we'll just sail around again," Luffy stated with a nonchalant shrug.

Crocus smiled. "So you will."

_'Hee hee hee…' _the duo snickered to themselves. _'Stupid pirates!'_

"Goodbye, flower man," Luffy said.

"Thanks for the log pose!" said Nami.

Crocus looked on, still smiling. "Good luck to you."

As the Going Merry sailed out into the ocean, the passengers (i.e., the crew) looked back one last time. "GOODBYE, WHALE!" **_BWAAAAAAH!_**

Then they turned their heads toward the horizon, wondering what they will encounter next-

* * *

**_MUSIC TIME, BECHAS-!_**

* * *

And twitched in surprise as they heard the soft notes of a flute playing. They looked around in wonder and confusion before their eyes slowly trailed up, up, _up,_ until they looked straight at the crow's nest. They crew (and even the duo) gaped at the sight of Aqua sitting on the ledge of the crow's nest, eyes closed in concentration as her fingers skillfully moved over the flute's holes. The wind lightly ruffled her hair, causing it to drift up lazily to the music, giving it the appearance of dancing with the air. Her body was completely lax, immersed in the indescribable song she was playing.

Back at the cliff-side Crocus jolted in surprise as the musical notes of the flute gently reached his ears. He stared at the tiny figure of Aqua at the top of the ship, his smiling getting bigger and bigger as his eyes closed; remembering the moment when they had first met.

_Crocus blinked in shock at the raft carrying a young, blue-haired teenager. He was even more surprised that Laboon had calmed down from his timely bashing at the Red Line, his eyes trained to the girl playing her flute. As he walked closer, he faintly registered the notes being played as he relaxed little by little. Stopping at the edge of the cliff-side he stared on as she continued to play, not even acknowledging his present in favor of immersing herself in her flute. Taking a quick look at the strangely calm whale, he took in the sight of her in a raggedy brown cloak and pulled down hood, thinking about where she came from. Then he shrugged it off, closing his eyes and letting himself enjoy the music._

_As time passed, the girl would always visit the old lighthouse keeper and island whale every moment she had the time, announcing her arrival by the musical notes drifting from her flute playing. She never spoke; however he learned her name through the occasional notebook she would give him, filled with all of her thoughts and tales of the adventures she had took, the occasionally things she liked and disliked, and even her _background dilemma and secrets_, learning to enjoy these moments of peace. And every time, she would munch on his specialty dish (mint-chocolate, chocolate chip cookies; she had one _hell_ of a sweet tooth) while he would flip through her pages, a smile on his face as he read on._

_Their bond was a strange thing, but he cherished it nonetheless; to him, it was like he had his very own granddaughter…_

_Albeit a stoic and poker faced girl, but it didn't really matter to him much._

He opened his eyes, already knowing that the end of the song was near. He always thought that it suited her. She arrives with the flow, and leaves with the flow; just like her music. And every time, she'd always gives him her promise: _I will come back_.

As he stared at the tiny image of the ship, he suddenly chortled in laughter as a thought passed through his head. If only they knew whom they were sailing with…

_If only I was there to see their faces…_

Back on Merry, its passengers gaped in awe as the flutist stopped and gently lowered her instuments onto her lap. Eyes as blue as the sea opened up and stared at the figure of Laboon getting smaller and smaller before raising a hand up high and giving one, big wave. The crew (and even the duo, although in secret) smiled as Laboon cried out a _BWAAH!_ to her; it was almost like she was giving them a personal goodbye…

They somewhat jumped when Aqua landed on the deck, surprised at how quiet the impact and her sudden presence was. They stared at her as the bluenette walked towards Luffy's Special Seat™ and stood there, arms crossed and eyes narrowed like before. However, they couldn't help but smile at how tenderly she held the flute in her left hand.

With that surprising and peaceful performance exit, the Straw Hats were ready to go on a new adventure…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Too bad Zoro missed out on the whole thing.

**END **of _Chapter _**Two**

* * *

**Aaaaaannnndddd DONE! WHOO!**

**Allie: Why the hell did you create that fake author's note?**

**Because**** i felt like i should at least do one prank to somebody, and i chose my audience.**

**Allie: ... You seriously like to cause mind fuckery and suspension to your readers, don't you?**

**HELL YEAH! No wonder why those authors on get such a rush from writing cliffhangers!**

**Allie: Whatever. SO when are you going to update your Hetalia fanfic?**

**As soon as i can, probably tomorrow. With the new home computer and fake Microsoft Word replacement dilemma at home, I am forced to use my school computers and my little brother's laptop to type and finish my chapters. Ann on that note i have to finish reading these English chapters my teacher assigned us to read by _tomorrow._ Did i ever mention that English was my first period at school?**

**Allie: You never did mention anything related to your schedule.**

**And do you know what's worse?**

**Allie: What?**

**It is currently 11:44 P.M., RIGHT NOW, and I'm so close to dropping off to sleep.**

**Allie: ... *shrugs* Sucks to be you.**

**Why**** you LITTLE-!**

_**The camera suddenly blacks**_** out.**

* * *

**Updated Chapter: 2/4/2013**


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